Safety appliance for elevators.



E. HARDBSTY.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR ELEVATORS.

` APPLICATION funn 23.1, wos. 904,424. y Patented Nov. 17,1908.v

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. E. HARDBSTY. SAFETY APPLIANOE FOR BLEVA'I'ORS.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. l i

ERNEST HARDESTY, OF CAMBRIDGE, OHIO.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR ELEVATORS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST Hannns'rr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cambridge, in the county of Guernsey and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Safety Appliances for Elevators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to safety appliances for elevators, and it has for its object to,

provide a device of this character which shall be capable of being readily applied to an elevator car or cage of ordinary construction, and which shall be operable automatically for the purpose of checking the descent of such car or cage in the event of the breakage or disarrangement of the hoisting mechanism.

Further objects of the invention are to simplify and improve the construction and operation of this class of devices.

1With these and other ends in View which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter fully described and par-v ticularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention; it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details herein exhibited, but that changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of the invention may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawingsFigure 1 is a side elevation showing an elevator car or cage equipped with the invention. F ig. 2 is a top plan view of the same, parts having been broken awa,7 for the purpose of showing` the invention more clearly. Fig. 3 is a detail view in elevation of one of the guide rails showing the gripping mechanism adjacent thereto. Fig. 4 is a sectional detail view of one of the grips or catches. Fig. 5 is a sectional detail view taken vertically through the shaft of the governor and related parts. Fig. 6 is a sectional detail view taken on the plane indicated by the line 6-6 in Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a sectional detail view taken on the plane indicated by the line 7 7 in Fig. 2.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are denoted by like characters of reference.

The car or cage A of the elevator is guided in the usual manner upon the guide rails Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 7, 1908.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908.`

serial No. 425,758.

B, B, which are mounted vertically in the elevator well or shaft, said cage being equipped with the customary platform C and top cross-bar D with which the hoisting rope E is suitably connected. The cage is equipped with guide members 5, engaging with rails B.

A plate 6, which is bolted or otherwise suitably secured upon the cross-bar D, is provided with an upwardly extending shaft or spindle 7, having a shoulder or oi'i'set 8 and upon which a tubulai shaft or sleeve 9 is mounted for rotation, said sleeve 9 being provided near its lower end with a grooved pulley 10. A cross-bar 11 is secured upon the sleeve 9 adjacent to the upper end of the latter, and said sleeve is retained upon the shaft 7 by means of a cap-nut 12. An external sleeve 13 is mounted for rotation upon the sleeve or tubular shaft 9, upon which said external sleeve 13 is also capable of vertically slidable movement; said sleeve 13 being normally supported upon the upper side of the pulley 10. The external sleeve 13 carries an adjustable collar let, capable of being secured at any desired adjustment by means of a set-screw 15; said external sleeve also carries a vertically movable collar 16, which is connected by links 17 with arms 18, the inner ends of which are pivotally connected with the cross-bar 11 at the upper end of the tubular shaft 9, the outer extremities of the arms 18 being equipped with governor balls or weights 19. It will be readily seen that when the tubular shaft 9 is rotated by power applied through the medium of the pulley 10, the free ends of the weight carrying arms 1S will, by the centrifugal force thus generated be thrown in an upward and outward direction, thus causing the links 17 to elevate the collar 16 until said collar engages the xed collar 14 which has been previously adjusted to the desired position where it is secured by the set-screw 15; the external sleeve 13 will thus be forcibly moved in an upward direction, as will be readily understood.

Pivotally supported upon vertical pins or bolts 2O are pairs of levers 21, the outer extremities of which carry the gripping devices G, which will be presently more fully described. The inner ends of the levers 21 are loosely connected in pairs by means of pins or bolts 22 carrying coiled springs 23, the tension of which is exerted to force the inner ends of the pairs of levers apart from each other, the outer ends of the levers being thus moved in the direction of each other. Normally, however, the springs 23 are compressed by the action of hook-shaped catches 24 engaging the levers 21 adjacent to the inner ends of the latter, said catches being connected by means of links 25, with a crossbar 26 at the lower end of the vertical movable sleeve 13. rFhe inner ends of the levers 21 are supported by means of cross-bars 27, at the lower ends of bolts 2S that extend through the top bar D of the elevator cage between which and the heads of the bolts 28, cushion springs 29 are inserted.

The gripping devices G, at the outer extremities of the levers 21 comprise wedgeshaped plates 30 suitably secured upon the levers and provided with vertical slots 31 for the passage of pins or bolts 32 whereby the gripping wedges 33 are slidably connected with the guide wedges 30; the connecting bolts 32 being provided with springs 34, and the engaging faces of the gripping wedges 33 being toothed or serrated, as shown at 35, to engage with the guide rails B, as will be clearly seen in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

Suitably supported upon the top bar D of the elevator cage, adjacent to the governor', are vertically disposed guide pulleys 3G for the passage of a Hexible operating member, such as a rope 37, the ends of which are to be suitably secured adjacent to the upper and lower' ends of the elevator well; the rope 37 being guided over the pulley 10 of the governor which will thus be actuated.

The adjustable collar 14: is to be secured in such a position upon the external sleeve 13 that it will not be reached or engaged by the movable collar 16 of the governor when the elevator is operated at the extreme normat speed. Should the extreme normal speed be exceeded, however, as for instance, owing to the rapid descent of the elevator cage in the event of accident to the hoisting machinery, the governor will be actuated at excessive speed and the movable collar 16 will engage the ixed collar 14, thus forcing the sleeve 13 in an upward direction, and causing the catches 24: to be disengaged from the levers 21, the inner ends of which will thus be forced apart by the action of the springs 23,

thus causing the gripping devices G to engage the guide rails B, and thus checking the descent of the car. lt is obvious that the movable wedge members 33 will grip the guide rails B with extreme tenacity, thus positively checking the descent of the car and avoiding injury to the machinery as well as danger to the occupants of the car.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed, the operation and advantages of this invention will be readily understood. The construction is simple and inexpensive and of such a nature that the invention will be readily applied to elevator cars of ordinary pattern.

Having thus described the invention,what is claimed is- 1. ln a device of the character described, an elevator car, a stationary shaft supported upon the same, a tubular shaft mounted for rotation upon the stationary shaft, weighted governor arms connected pivotally with the tubular shaft, a sleeve fitted slidably upon the latter, a collar adjustable upon said sleeve, a collar fitted movably upon the sleeve and adapted to engage the adjustable collar, links connecting the movable collar with the weighted arms, spring actuated levers, gripping` devices upon the levers, retaining` means for holding the levers compressed against the action of the springs, links, connecting the retaining means with the vertically movable sleeve, and means for actuating the governor when the elevator car is in motion.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with an elevator car and guide rails for the same, pairs of spring actuated levers pivoted upon the car, vertically slotted wedge plates at the free ends of the said levers, gripping wedges, connecting bolts extending from the latter through the slots of the wedge plates, and springs upon the connecting bolts.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST HARDESTY.

lVitnesses A. R. MCCULLOGH, C. E. VINCENT. 

